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VIDEO: CRB Flap Again Shows Police Should Be Under Local Control

By Antonio D. French

Filed Monday, June 19, 2006 at 9:55 AM

Alderman Terry Kennedy (18th Ward) was the original sponsor of the bill that was passed earlier this year by the Board of Aldermen to create a civilian review board to investigate reports of abuses of power by city cops. Mayor Francis Slay vetoed that bill and proposed a weaker version, which the state-controlled police board approved.

Last week, we reported that supporters of Kennedy's bill noticed significant changes between the version the police board approved in public and what actually became policy with the signature of police board president Chris Goodson.

Kennedy sat down with PUB DEF to again express his belief that the citizens of St. Louis deserve the same right to control their police department just as citizens of most other American cities.

Labels: Aldermen, Interviews, Police, Video_Reports

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6 Comments:

Travis Reems said...

Antonio, GREAT POLL!!!!

I think the issue is a little more complex than can be captured in a poll, but this was a great idea to learn the sentiments of at least your readers, if not the residents of the city.

6/19/2006 2:55 PM

Anonymous said...

Btw, I had a phone message on my home (10th ward) answering machine from Chris Goodson and Survey St. Louis last night. The message read by the Police Prez said that there will be three evening police board meetings held within the community. The first one is to take place Wednesday, June 21, 7pm at Word of Life on the corner of Eichelberger and Donovan.

The message also said that neighbors would have an opportunity to voice concerns over police residency. However, with no mention of the CRB issue, it seems SLMPD is kicking off in their most favorite corner of the City.

6/20/2006 8:54 AM

Kennedy and all other proponents of "local control" are obscuring the reality of the situation: the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is run by the Mayor and the Chief of Police. The Board gets only the information the Chief and Mayor permit it to see; their "authority" is EXTREMELY limited and largely illusory. Curiously, the position of Chief is one of the only jobs where there is no annual review or evaluation of his performance by ANYONE--not the Mayor, not the Board. This means there is no mechanism for disciplining the Chief, or ultimately, for terminating him. I find this alarming. Rather than kicking around the non-issue of who gets to appoint an ineffectual figurehead of a police board, why aren't our political leaders addressing the issue of a Police Chief who does not run for office and cannot be fired or even evaluated?

6/20/2006 9:31 AM

To Anon at 9:31 a.m. today-

FYI-

First, sheriff's are elected. That is a county position. Police chiefs are appointed from within or hired.

Second, the SLMPD is controlled by the Governor of the State of Missouri. The board is appointed by the Governor, the hirings and promotions are approved by the Governor. It has been this way since the Civil War, when the SLMPD as the largest paramilitary force in the state was co-oped by the Governor to ensure that they did not act contrary to his views. The Mayor in reality exercises no control over the police.

This sets up a political reality as it relates to control of the SLMPD, whereby the worse case scenario is to have a Republican, particularly an Ultra-conservative Republican like Matt Blunt, in the Governorship. There is no political incentive for a Governor of this bent to give creedence to the viewpoints of most St. Louisans as the city is an overwhelmingly Democratic stronghold, therefore, he has no chance of gaining these votes.

However, he can appoint political cronies/allies who live within the city as colonels of the police board, which is a nice perc.

All of this rolls up as Travis stated to be a much more complex issue, that being Home Rule for the city of St. Louis. So, you want real change focus your energies on the real issue.

6/20/2006 9:56 AM

Unfortunately, Anonymous#3 is repeating some common speculation about the SLMPD that is not supported by facts; that's the main reason this "local control" issue still has legs.

I am very aware county sheriffs are elected. The issue I am raising is that the Chief of Police is in no way accountable to the public: he does not run for his office and cannot be removed by the voters; he is not evaluated annually (or any other time, for that matter), and is not accountable to the Police Board; and the neither the Mayor nor the Governor have authority to remove him. Although the Chief serves at the pleasure of the Police Board, he can effectively prevent them from any knowledge of his misdeeds or malfeasance through his control of such information. Think about it.

The SLMPD is NOT controlled by the Governor; the Governor has NO INVOLVEMENT in hiring and firing (although "influential people," including the governor, often chime in at promotion time, or make phone calls about getting their kid into the Police Academy).

Being on the Police Board is a great honor, but no "perks" come with it. Their is a stipend of $1000/yr which is paid quarterly; they take taxes out of the check! You get called "Colonel," which is very cool, but doesn't get you any "perks" unless you include great parking at public events like Fair St. Louis. Used to be Board members got health insurance and a car, but this practice was discontinued almost 10 years ago. The job requires a huge commitment of time if done with integrity; lots of material to read, lots of meetings to attend.

If the Police Chief runs the SLMPD, what difference does it make WHO appoints the Police Board?

6/20/2006 4:23 PM

That's easy. The voters of the City of St. Louis should not only have the say on whose on the board, but whether police officers should be required to live in the City of St. Louis. First responders should have to adhere to a residency requirement. If the City and County were a singular unit, that would be less of an issue.

6/20/2006 6:45 PM

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